The invention relates generally to telecommunication systems and services, and more particularly to transferring a voice mail to a data network.
In the past, voice mail systems provided a convenient way of asking someone to return a missed call. Today, perhaps due to the expectations brought about by its counterpart email system, the voice mail system has become more than a way of communicating brief xe2x80x9creturn-callxe2x80x9d messages with others. For many, voice mail systems have become an extension of their other electronic tools. For example, many use their voice mail systems like a data storage system to store important voice messages, much like one would store an email for a longer period of time or a memorandum in a paper-based file.
Many legacy voice mail systems, however, are ill equipped to provide anything more than very short-term data storage. In fact, legacy voice mail systems often have relatively small storage capabilities that were designed for the more elementary purposes of days past. As companies add personnel, these older systems necessarily reduce the number of messages that may be stored for each employee. Moreover, these legacy systems often are impossible or too expensive to upgrade. As a result, a caller often will be frustrated by hearing the dead end message xe2x80x9cI""m sorry mailbox 4321 is full, and unable to receive additional messages.xe2x80x9d The owner of the mailbox also may be frustrated by being forced to delete certain voice mail messages that should continue to be stored, or perhaps to have the voice mail message manually typed into text for storage on a computer medium.
In addition to its limited storage capabilities, legacy voice mail systems do not provide the ability to intelligently categorize, sort, and/or search the stored messages (e.g. by titles, times, types, parties), like its email counterpart. Again, in part because voice mail systems are being used for purposes beyond their originally intended purposes, they do not provide a means of intelligently interacting with the data that they capture. For example, although most traditional voice mail systems are capable of capturing the name and number of the calling party, the time and date of the incoming call, and the duration of the voice mail message, none of these attributes are available for anything other than a simple audible report to the voice mail user. Yet, sorting and searching these attributes are critical in permitting the data captured by the voice mail system to be useful in today""s communications environment. Although newer voice mail systems may provide some of these capabilities, many are not willing to undergo the aggravation and expense of a wholesale transfer to these newer systems, especially organizations with a large number of users.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a technique for transferring voice mail messages to other data communication systems, like email for example.
The invention contemplates a device, system, and method of transferring a voice mail message. The inventive method includes receiving a voice mail message directed to a telephone number, correlating the telephone number to at least one email address, and forwarding the voice mail message to the email address. The method further may include converting the voice mail message to an electronic data file, like a text file and/or audio file, for example. The electronic data file may be an instant message, an Internet relay chat message, a desktop icon, a hypertext markup language link, and/or an electronic file with a directory mapping, for example. Also, the electronic data file may provide a name of a party initiating the voice mail message, a telephone number of a party initiating the voice mail message, a time and a date of the voice mail message, and/or a duration of the voice mail message, for example. The inventive method may further include storing the voice mail message on a computer-readable medium associated with the email address.
Another inventive method contemplated by the invention includes retrieving a voice mail message from a voice mailbox, forwarding the voice mail message to an email system, and receiving a data file via the email system, wherein the data file is representative of the voice mail message. The inventive method further may include accessing the voice mailbox, for example, using an alphanumeric password. The inventive method may further include selecting an option that conducts the forwarding of the voice mail, for example, by depressing a key on a telephone keypad, depressing a key on a computer keyboard, and/or providing an audible command. The method may identify at least one email address on the email system to be correlated with the voice mailbox, and may select an email address from a plurality of identified email addresses.
The invention also contemplates a method of transferring a voice mail message to an email system by providing access to a voice mail associated with a telephone number, prompting for a transfer of the voice mail to an email system, and transferring the voice mail to the email system. Also, the inventive method may convert the voice mail to an email, prompt for at least one email address associated with the telephone number, and/or store the voice mail message on a computer-readable medium associated with the email system.
Another inventive method contemplated by the invention includes receiving a voice mail message that is associated with an identifier (e.g., a telephone number, a private branch exchange number, a subscriber name), converting the voice mail message to a data file, correlating the identifier to a network address, and forwarding the data file to the network address. The method may include receiving at least one network address associated with the identifier, and storing the data file on a computer-readable medium associated with the network address. The method may include providing access to the voice mail message, for example, using an alphanumeric password. The network address may be an email address, an Internet relay chat address, an Internet protocol address, and/or a telephone number, for example.
The inventive device for converting a voice mail includes an input for receiving a voice mail associated with an identifier, a converter in communication with the input for converting the voice mail to a data file, and a database for correlating one or more network addresses with the identifier. The device further includes a computing device in communication with the converter and the database. The computing device queries the database to identify a network address associated with the identifier. The inventive device also includes an output for providing the data file to a network address. The identifier may be a telephone number, a private branch exchange number, and a subscriber name, for example. Also, the network address may be an email address, an Internet relay chat address, an Internet protocol address, and a telephone number. The data file may be sent as an instant message, or an Internet relay chat message, a desktop icon, a hypertext markup language link, and an electronic file with a directory mapping. The data file also may be an audible representation of the voice mail message. The data file may include data pertaining to a name of a party initiating the voice mail message, a telephone number of a party initiating the voice mail message, a time and a date of the voice mail message, and a duration of the voice mail message, for example.
The invention contemplates a system for transferring a voice mail message. The system includes a voice mail system having a voice mailbox for voice mail messages. The system also includes a service control point in communication with the voice mailbox. The service control point prompts a customer to transfer a voice mail. The inventive system also includes a gateway in communication with the service control point. The gateway correlates the voice mailbox to a network identifier. The service control point transfers the voice mail message to the network identifier. The gateway may be a computer telephony interface that converts the voice mail message to a data file. The system also may include a service switching point in communication with the service control point and in communication with a data network. The service switching point may operate to forward the voice mail message to a network device having the network identifier on the data network.